Heart of the Huntress
by HunnybadgerV
Summary: Others have long seen the connection between the young huntress Cyna Mahariel and the strong warrior Tamlen, but it had taken some time for them to master themselves as well as their deep connection to one another. Cyna knows how to lure her willing prey, but once she agrees to be his, Tamlen seeks to prove he is just as skilled as she.


**A/N:** Just a fluffy little piece about the connection between Mahariel and Tamlen. I always thought these two were so sweet they'd make your teeth ache.

Disclaimer: Dragon Age belongs to Bioware, I'm only playing with their universe. I do not own the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. I do it for the love of the game, the world, and the characters; and because they stuck with me long after I turned the game off (and back on, and off, ad infinitum).

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**Heart of the Huntress**

**-1-**

Prowess with a bow was prized among her people, though the definition of prowess among the Dalish had a very different meaning from anywhere else in Thedas. All Dalish were taught to use the bow and all could do so with enough skill to not starve if they were on their own. But Cyna Mahariel's talent rivaled that of her mother who was a well-respected huntress and warrior among her own clan. Her father had been the Keeper before Marethari, but Cyna had known neither of them. She only knew of them in the broadest sense, and had been assured that their love for one another and for her was tantamount to anything else in their lives.

Though her parents were no longer there, she did not feel their loss as she might have if she were not Dalish. Among her people, all elders were as parents to the young. Ashalle had held the title of her caretaker and fulfilled the role happily. Junar, Fenarel, Tamlen, and Merrill were her siblings; the five of them were close in age, though Tamlen, the eldest, and Cyna, the youngest, were four years apart in age. Though they had all received their vallaslin, no one was surprised when Cyna was marked with the vallaslin of Andruil, the Goddess of the Hunt; it seemed another reminder of her skill and dedication to the Vir Tanadahl.

Despite their separation in years Cyna and Tamlen had always been the closest of their age group. Too often one or the other of them was in some sort of scuffle or being scolded by an elder-only rarely were they both caught or punished for their stunts which were always performed together. Neither ever revealed their partner's participation in whatever they were currently in trouble for. Too often, for her tastes, though it was usually Tamlen that received the brunt of their punishments.

Marethari saw the connection between them early on, but, even as they neared the age when they should be seeking a mate, the two friends seemed to be oblivious of their bond. The Keeper knew that there were none more equally matched among their tribe and Mahariel's lineage guaranteed that the match would proceed without concern. She just had to wait for them to find their way to it.

**-2-**

"Why do you always climb?" Tamlen asked, looking up at her, his arms crossed over his chest.

She shrugged and smiled at him, the easy smile that she knew would make him return it. "I like the feel of the sun and the crispness of the wind that you can only find above the canopy." Her own grin widened when it worked and he smiled back up at her.

Cyna hopped from branch to branch moving back toward Tamlen. With the final leap she calculated precisely, landing near him, which prompted him to uncross his arms and place his hands on her waist. The demure woman knew precisely how to pull the desired responses from the elf who held her heart delicately within his strong hands. The right glance for the precise amount of time before letting her eyes fall away brought his hand to her chin to guide her lips to his.

To her it was like hunting. She knew how to track, how to stalk, where to aim, and when to strike. He was her willing prey, and she his.

Tamlen pressed her back against the tree, bracing himself with one hand as the other wrapped around her waist pulling her body to his. Remembering her answer to heartfelt request, he clasped her hand tightly and pulled her along the path for several steps before loosing her to run. Cyna followed him, lithely moving through the forest with barely a sound. Tamlen was faster, always had been-Mahariel always attributed it to him being older and taller. He had about six inches of height on her.

That day, though, he was not trying to beat her, only lead her. He kept his pace relatively matched to hers. When he broke through the tree line, he stopped. She pulled up a little short and almost wound up face first in the stream. At this location the stream split and circled a small grassy clearing on which grew one large flowering tree whose thick trunk bore the marks of other lovers who'd happened on this lush hideaway.

Tamlen's decision to bring her there was as calculated as her earlier maneuverings. He was wholly aware that she knew just how to guide him. He was hoping for the chance to show her that he was equally as skilled.

Her eyes fell on him and his response, though silent, spoke volumes. He slipped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her to him. His kiss was powerful and consuming with an intensity he'd never shared with her before. He knelt down and unbuckled her boots then his own. They crossed the stream, holding their boots above their heads to keep them dry.

Cyna was drawn to the tree. She ran her hands over the scarred bark that bore the promises of many, human and elf, she assumed. His hands were warm on the flesh of her waist. As his lips brushed against the skin of her neck, she leaned her head back on his shoulder and wove her fingers into his golden hair.

"My own heart," he whispered against the column of her throat.

"Tamlen," she sighed. Cyna turned in his arms, her bright eyes searched his.

His kiss was light and soft before he pulled away, setting his attention to the buckles of their armor. There was a ritualistic feel to his ministrations. For each piece he removed from her, he removed the matching piece from his own kit. Though when they both stood nearly bare beneath the flowering tree that had witnessed similar expressions of love; he stripped himself before he set to removing her small clothes. When he slid the last item down her legs he knelt at her feet, his hands moving ethereally across the skin of the back of her legs.

Tamlen offered her his hand and she joined him, kneeling before him and laying her hand over his heart. He copied the action before their lips met again. There was a breathlessness that followed their kiss, which was compounded when his hand moved across her chest. The gasping moan that threw her head back thrilled him as he placed his warm lips on her flesh.

Her hands threaded into his hair and Tamlen smiled against her skin with the knowledge that she was not the only one able to master the other's reactions. He'd loved her as long as he could remember. She'd always been at his side and there was no woman other than Cyna Mahariel he could even consider bonding with. She broke their kiss and lowered herself onto the grass, pulling him with her.

"My heart will ever beat with yours," she whispered as he settled between her thighs.

"As mine with yours, dear Cyna. I will love you always."

She smiled sweetly at him, nodding her assent, her readiness to be claimed by him, bonded to him. Tamlen moved slowly, carefully. Like the other young men at this age, he'd been informed to take care with maidens. He knew there would be some pain, but did not wish it to preclude her pleasure. Her hands gripped his upper arms tightly as he pressed into her slowly. His strokes gradually lengthened. His mouth met hers hungrily and when he plunged completely into her he nipped her shoulder then kissed the spot he'd bitten before making his way back to claim her mouth again. They moved together and against one another, slowly at first, feeling out a rhythm that would entwine their pleasure.

He was not prepared for the heights of ecstasy pleasing her would bring him to. As his name became a mantra on her lips, he felt her tighten. With a deep moan her nails bit into the flesh of his back and the waves of her pleasure pulsed around him. A slick heat enveloped him and his pleasure mixed with her own. Tamlen loomed over her, kissing her attentively as they lay under the tree still joined, her legs entwined with his.

Cyna touched his face when he looked down at her and promised, "Always."


End file.
